Case study
VectorCraft: a clean-room vector illustration application in Rust
The authors describe VectorCraft as an open-source, clean-room vector illustration application built in pure Rust. The README documents native and WebAssembly builds and reports about 88% of core menu items.
- Targets
- App
- Category
- Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship
- Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed
- Evidence class
- C0 full software reconstruction
- Stars
- 11.6k
- Last commit
- 2026-11-10
- Language
- Rust
- License (GitHub)
- Apache-2.0
GitHub data as of 2026-11-10
Evidence

- Scope
- Full reconstruction
- Manual review
- 2026-11-04 · README commit 6bde3c59a544873a32537b557e97a582dbb6e912
- Checked
- 2026-11-04
Requirements & limits
- Prerequisites: Source builds use Rust and Cargo; release assets exist for macOS (universal DMG), Windows, Linux and FreeBSD, and the README documents a WebAssembly browser build.
- Limits: The README calls the project alpha and reports about 88% of core menu items.
- Scope: The README describes the project as a clean-room implementation built from public documentation and observed behaviour, not from the target application's source.
- License: Code is MIT OR Apache-2.0, with NOTICE and brand assets under separate terms.
Cite
BibTeX
@misc{vectorcraft-case,
title = {{VectorCraft: a clean-room vector illustration application in Rust}},
howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/storytold/vectorcraft}},
url = {https://github.com/storytold/vectorcraft},
urldate = {2026-11-03},
note = {Awesome REA entry: \url{https://awesomerea.org/resources/vectorcraft-case/}}
}Plain text
VectorCraft: a clean-room vector illustration application in Rust. https://github.com/storytold/vectorcraft (accessed 2026-11-03). Awesome REA entry: https://awesomerea.org/resources/vectorcraft-case/
Useful? Star Awesome REA on GitHub2.4k
About this entry
The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Primary sources
- README.md GitHub · storytold/vectorcraft · Revision 999f4e6
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/storytold/vectorcraft/999f4e6478e19b7139db70a3f2a0a5b0669ffcaf/docs/images/shot-2-ribbons.png
- https://github.com/storytold/vectorcraft/releases/tag/v0.21.0
- docs/target-app-parity.md GitHub · storytold/vectorcraft · Revision 999f4e6
- LICENSE-MIT GitHub · storytold/vectorcraft · Revision 999f4e6
More in Apps
- Picture Man: a Rust rebuild of the Windows 3.x image editor · Case study
- RE:Notepad: rebuilding Windows 10 Notepad behavior in Rust · Case study
- Audionic Trance Airbud 850: reconstructing BLE controls for Linux · Case study
- JTrac 3: an issue tracker rebuilt after REA analysis of JTrac 2.3.3 · Case study
- Reversed engineering Icsee: a macOS camera viewer informed by REA research · Case study
- qcywatch: a QCY Watch GT2 client built from its BLE protocol and face format · Case study